Flat Earth advocate dies after homemade rocket crashes

redleghunter said:

Maybe he just wanted their money.

Click to expand...

He did. He said he was just there seeking funding for the rocket that ended up killing him.

redleghunter said:

Hi Ted, I did not see the documentary. Sounds interesting. I gather he garnered some interest due to the steam engine design. As you said he had some difficulties but some success.

Click to expand...

Hi RLH,

Sorry, I just got to looking for it and it's on Amazon Prime:

Watch Rocketman: Mad Mike's Mission to Prove the Flat Earth | Prime Video

God bless,
In Christ, ted

The title makes it sound like it was his belief that killed him

SeventyOne said:

The man was not a flat-earther. That's actually just propaganda.

Click to expand...

Hmm, well he went up from the earth about 2000 feet, lost his parachute and then came back down to earth the hard way... whatever he was before, he's probably pretty flat now.

Petros2015 said:

Hmm, well he went up from the earth about 2000 feet, lost his parachute and then came back down to earth the hard way... whatever he was before, he's probably pretty flat now.

Click to expand...

Please! The man died. Have a bit more respect

redleghunter said:

Well I think there was general interest in his steam rocket designs. A lot of his fans in that hobby rocket community did not share his flat earth deal, but following his designs.

Click to expand...

Following the designs of a guy who died from those very rockets... might not be the smartest move ever.

When we first heard about his ambitions several years ago, I think we all knew it would end in this way.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

JackRT said:

When we first heard about his ambitions several years ago, I think we all knew it would end in this way.

Click to expand...

Hi jack,

Yea, if I remember the docu story, the last shot he made in it, the parachutes malfunctioned or he waited too long to release them and he had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital. Of course, I guess for a guy whose life was being a daredevil, there were likely many trips to the hospital.

God bless,
In Christ, ted

Cause of crash ---- unintended contact with the landscape

JackRT said:

Cause of crash ---- unintended contact with the landscape

Click to expand...

Yea it's not the fall that gets you, it's sticking the landing.

miamited said:

Yea it's not the fall that gets you, it's sticking the landing.

Click to expand...

I have seen an old WW2 training manual from the RCAF that points out "when flying a twin engine aircraft and one engine fails, there will always be enough power to make it to the scene of the crash".

JackRT said:

I have seen an old WW2 training manual from the RCAF that points out "when flying a twin engine aircraft and one engine fails, there will always be enough power to make it to the scene of the crash".

Click to expand...

Too bad Bugs Bunny physics don't work in real life...

Sabertooth said:

The Armstrong Limit (59K-62K feet) would have taken him out, then.

Click to expand...

Cool read.
What is the Armstrong Limit?

Sabertooth said:

An airline ticket would have been cheaper and brought him up to 35,000 feet (about seven miles)...

Click to expand...

Breaking this logic down, getting in a place, reaching the right altitude looking out the window with minimal risk he could draw a better conclusion that a steam powered rocket that could go to 3,000 feet.
Climbing a high mountain would do better even.

This suggests other motivations were at work, nothing really to do with flat earth at all.
Publicity and the belief that world is deceived if only they look maybe. Only problem is by looking we see the world is round and works very well being round, especially when I have to get in a plane to fly somewhere and it is 100% important I know the earth is round and the weather forecasts are right.

The world is flat, until you reach high enough to see the curvature of it.
I liked the idea a 3 mile long lake can be shown to curve by 2 feet, a simple experiment anyone can do.
But the sense of knowing something others do not know can be very addictive.

I saw a news piece several months ago about this guy building that rocket to have another go at it and it immediately struck me it was going to kill him if he launches in that thing.